Burial caskets include a lid hingedly connected to a body along one longitudinal edge, to permit hinged movement of the lid to a closed position along the other longitudinal edge. The lid and the body include structural components which cooperate to permit the lid to be locked, or tightly sealed, to the body in the closed position so that the closed casket is airtight.
When the casket is initially closed, the body and the lid are in uninterrupted engagement along confronting flange surfaces which extend completely around the four walls of the casket. A compressible gasket or sealing tube also extends completely around the casket and resides between the engaged flange surfaces of the body and the lid. During locking, the lid is pulled downwardly toward the body to compress the gasket and to provide an airtight seal extending completely around the four walls of the casket.
For metal caskets, a wedge bar is commonly used to lock the lid to the body. The wedge bar resides within a hollow portion of the body of the casket, adjacent the flange, and it extends almost the entire length of the open, or nonhinged, side of the casket. The wedge bar is mounted in the casket body at a desired vertical position, and is movable horizontally along the longitudinal axis of the wedge bar. The wedge bar includes at least one, and preferably three or four, catches having cam surfaces. The catches may be integrally formed with the wedge bar or separately attached thereto. Each catch resides immediately below a small opening in the flange along the nonhinged edge of the body. The nonhinged edge of the lid includes a corresponding number of keeper elements mounted thereto and directed downwardly, and these elements are aligned with the openings and catches. When the lid is closed, the keeper elements extend downwardly through the openings, with each keeper element positioned adjacent a catch.
Longitudinal movement of the wedge bar in a first direction toward a first end wall of the casket causes the catches to engage the keeper elements, and the keeper elements are cammed downwardly by the caches until the wedge bar stops moving. This camming action pulls the lid downwardly to the sealed position. A screw mounted within the body has a head end which is accessible through a port in the first end wall. This screw operatively connects to one end of the wedge bar, and the screw is held in place relative to the body by a bracket, which is fixedly secured to the body. Rotating the screw in one direction moves the wedge bar toward the first end wall, which locks the casket. Rotating the screw in an opposite direction moves the wedge bar toward the opposite end wall, which unlocks the casket. The screw is rotated from outside the first end wall, via the port therein.
The wedge bar is secured beneath the body flange by a plurality of hanger elements which attach at their upper ends to the body flange and hang or project downwardly therefrom. Each hanger element is stamped from sheet metal and bent into a generally U-shaped member, the vertical legs of which define a channel within which the wedge bar resides. The upper ends of the vertical legs are attached to the body flange by rivets which extend through holes in the body flange and through holes in flanges at the upper ends of the legs, and/or by tabs on the upper ends of the legs which engage holes in the body flange.
In addition to the hanger elements, there are a plurality of grommets installed in the openings in the body flange. The grommets are usually made of plastic, and assist in providing low-friction guideways for the keeper elements to pass through when the lid is closed.
While this design using such hanger elements has generally been satisfactory, there is room for improvement. For instance, a significant number of parts must be secured in the body flange prior to or in the process of installing the wedge bar. Specifically, there are typically four hanger elements, each of which must be riveted and/or hammered into place, and three or four grommets which must be installed in the openings in the body flange. Additionally, because of the significant number of parts, there are a significant number of separate assembly steps, all of which must be performed by human labor. Thus, installation is not as rapid as it could be. Further, when the hanger elements are attached to the body flange with rivets and/or tabs, installation requires the use of tools such as rivet guns and/or hammers, complicating the installation procedure. Therefore, manufacturing and installation costs are not as low as they could be.